Takumi groaned, snuggling his face into his purple puffy bat-shaped pillow. If only he could have a few more minutes, he would have knocked down a buzzer beater within his dream. It was the ultimate scenario all ballers dreamed of. Sadly for him, the alarm clock beside his bed continued to blare louder with each passing minute until Takumi couldn’t stand it any longer. With a violent swipe of his forearm, the clock flew off of the bed stand, destroying the holographic letters as they flew up to the ceiling and broke apart into tiny particles after bouncing around the darkened room. The clock rolled below the bed, heading towards the door.

“I hate dreaming… pure torture. I want to be there already,” Takumi told himself, tugging the sheets over his head. “Maybe I can get back in there and finish the job.” He snuggled into the sheets in an effort to go back to sleep.

“If you want to be there, you’ll need to get up extra early and continue putting in the work,” Takumi heard Alto say, causing him to shoot his eyes wide open under the sheets. “Young master, it’s time to get up. It’s your first day of school, you mustn’t be late now.” Alto stood outside the door and banged his right fist against the white door with an exasperated look on his face.

Takumi slid his face off of the pillow and squinted his eyes. “Easy for you to say. I stayed up late last night doing research that I didn’t want to do.”

“Your breakfast has been prepared. I’ll be at the Ikigai’s central base. If you desire anything, ring Miranda in.”

“Somethin’ serious?” Takumi asked.

“As you already know, I’m having a meeting with eight of the Shosas regarding their Packs and the recent Shiki activities that have been spiking up. You wouldn’t want to know this, but I must inform you that there were some casualties during one of last night’s hunt-and-rescue missions.”

“Casualties?” Takumi flapped the puffy sheets off of himself, with a sense of worry hidden behind his calm expression.

“Yes. Pack Four arrived defeated, many in terrible shape. Some physically wounded in Pack Six and others in Pack Three mentally troubled.”

“Doesn’t sound like anythin’ new.” Wiggling himself out of bed, Takumi stretched, after which he walked over to the door. “Barely woke up and already it’s another ordinary day.” He opened it, only to see Alto was already gone.

“Pack Four… wasn’t Naomi recently appointed as the Shosa for that pack?” Takumi grumbled under his breath, only for agitating visions of the previous night to flood his mind out of nowhere. From the Stray, to the human that troubled him.

“Hasegawa?” He clenched his eyes shut and gripped one of his bangs until the headache subsided. “No, don’t tell me I really…” In his head, he thought of when he pushed Hanami out of his room the previous night. He hadn’t eaten what she brought him, since she had pestered him to the point that his appetite disappeared. He recalled sliding into bed to sleep on an empty stomach, staring at the ceiling until he dozed off. The last thing he remembered was a delicious scent that his nose really focused on.

He found himself hit with memories of the previous night… memories he wasn’t aware he had. In those memories, he saw himself walking slowly towards Hanami’s room in a zombie-like trance. “I couldn’t have…” he questioned himself.

Within her room, the girl laid completely flat on her fluffy bed. Her entire body sprawled across the bed, taking up all the space as she switched positions numerous times throughout the span of an hour. She slept blissfully unaware that Takumi was standing right outside her door, as the drool coming out of the ridge of her mouth released an alluring cherry scent that attracted the hungry Setsu’s primal side.

Snapping himself out of the memories again, Takumi couldn’t believe his primal side actually took over him as he slept. It never happened before. “Did I break in? Does she know? Crap… not good. Curse them for setting this up.” Takumi tightened his fists, envisioning his parents, namely his mother smirking sinisterly.

“If they think they’ve got this all figured out, they have something else coming. Note to self: chain my room the next time I go for a nap.” Takumi made a mental note, drawing out a deep sigh. “Tch, I have no choice but to find out before leaving,” he decided, glancing around the vacant hallway. His sights went up to a camera positioned at the end of the hall, then over to a camera positioned on a tree that stood outside of the third floor window.

“One of those two must have captured what happened, I’ll check those first,” he mouthed, gritting his teeth. Takumi walked off hastily in search of the security room. “Damn it all. The heck am I supposed to say if I run into her? I know she’ll try to provoke me. My rotten luck.” He took a deep breath. “Relax, find the room first. You probably didn’t do anything. Overthinking won’t help,” Takumi spoke to himself in his head, maintaining the blank expression he typically kept on.

It took him less than three minutes to make it to the security room, which was hidden by a giant silver vault door. Takumi glanced down to his knuckles and then knocked four times, loudly, until the metallic door slid just a tiny bit enough to peek in. He saw one golden eye, glancing up at him, along with a small entity.

“Beniko, open the fucking door right now!”

“Umm… am I in trouble?” She asked shyly, kicking one of her small shoes against her other shoe.

“Why would you be in trouble? Hurry up and open the door or I’ll break it down myself,” Takumi growled. His fangs poked out below his upper lip, as his patience wore thin. His collar constricted, causing him to flinch slightly.

“OKAY! SOWEE! DON’T HURT ME!” Beniko dove behind the door, pulling it back as fast as her weak arms allowed. Her floppy bunny ears grew under the stress, slumping down on the maroon carpet floor. They spread behind her, forming into what resembled furry hands that fiddled together in a nervous manner.

As soon as he got through the door, Takumi aggressively reached over and yanked Beniko up into the air by the base of her floppy ears. She flinched, kicking her small feet around until Takumi shouted “Stop kicking around! You were awake last night, weren’t you? YOU SAW SOMETHING!?”

“Yes, I was! I totally didn’t see you go into that new girl’s room or anything! You aren’t a weirdo at all, I’m not saying that o-” Beniko blurted out, raising her small arms to her face, in fear that he’d strike her. Hearing what she said made his heart gem spike up. He threw her aside and hurried off inside, diving over the railing within the darkened lab.

Landing down, he rushed over to the control area and feverishly typed through to search for the previous night’s footage. He did so until several password keys sprung on the screen. “Come over here and put these passwords!” Darting a glare over to Beniko, who barely managed to stand up, Takumi shouted, “Why are you just standing there?! What are the passwords?! Out with it!”

She sniffled, frowning. Tears swelled in her eyes. She avoided his eye contact, completely embarrassed. She rubbed her elbow, unsure of what to do. “But I can’t tell you that, Master Takumi!”

“Can’t tell me?!?!”

“But I can’t tell you that!”

“What do you mean?! You tell me, right now!”

“The password is… but I can’t tell you that!”

“Tell me that cursed password before I shove those ears so far down your throat, you’ll-”

“I’m telling you that the password is…” Beniko flailed her hands around, attempting to explain, “But I can’t tell you that! Literally… ‘but I can’t tell you that’!!!” She cried out in frustration, as her ears flopped around creating a gust that blew nearby piles of paper off of the tables.

Takumi ran back up the steps and yanked the girl up by her ears and dragged her over. At the control area, he tossed her onto her custom made hamster hover seat. It spun around several times, making her dizzy as she felt attacked from all angles. “Okay, okay!” Beniko tried her best to get a hold of the control keys. Takumi stopped her hover seat from spinning and pointed to the large screen as it powered on. She reached around while her head swirled around until the dizziness subsided.

“Go back to last night when I was seen exiting my room.” His eyes were transfixed by the footage that she reversed after putting her eleven letter password, which was her second password. Takumi glanced down when she was typing her password out of curiosity.

Beniko looked up and screamed “Hey, don’t look at the keyboard!” He managed to see her press down on “H, E, T, A, U, N, Y.” He briefly attempted to come up with a possible password, but soon gave up and watched her skim through to the hour she recalled first seeing the odd occurrence. Worried for her safety, she warned in advance, “Master Takumi! Please don’t take out your anger on me if you see something you don’t like!”

“Shut up! I’ll do as I please,” Takumi responded as the chain of his collar swayed over. He thumped the side of her head then observed the footage. In the footage, he saw himself quietly napping as he stood in front of his fiancee’s room.

Beniko blushed intensely, as her floppy ears shifted to a bright pink and wrapped around her head. She tilted her head up a bit to see Takumi’s chin and felt Takumi slam his palm on her head. He twisted her head over so she’d be facing the screen. “Focus on the screen, not me. Keep going through,” Takumi ordered her. She felt his glare pierce through the back of her head and worked as fast as she could. Within the video, Takumi stood in front of the door for over twenty minutes, then turned around and walked down the hall, out of the camera’s view.

Changing through the camera perspectives, Beniko found the second piece of footage that showed Takumi outside, passing through the verbena garden. That camera was in a tree near Hanami’s balcony, pointed down to show the pond and several boulders. He stepped onto each one, until he grabbed a hold of a branch. He spun once, landing onto it and hopped off. Takumi came into full view, passing the ledge, as he graciously floated over. Once he landed, he opened the glass door and smoothly entered, leaving the door open. After that, nothing else was visible.

“That’s one smooth criminal…” Beniko mumbled, earning herself a whack on the head from Takumi.

“That’s all?”

“There aren’t any cameras inside of her room, as that would be a breach of privacy, sir; we’re not perverts.” Beniko fiddled with her fingers and glanced up to Takumi, who spaced out, having regained his memories of what happened afterwards.

Inside, Takumi stood at the end of her bed, watching her for eight minutes straight until she started drooling some more. The scent of her mouth made him get on the bed. He laid down beside her and poofed into a bat version of himself, with the only thing not changing being his hair.

Slivers of moonlight shined in and out of the room, like waves washing up on a beach. Feeling around, Hanami reached over in her sleep and grabbed onto Takumi in his bat form, bringing him close, smudging him up against her chest to bat Takumi’s displeasure. She suffocated him to the point that he poofed back into his normal state and after some squirming, slid out of her strong hold as she continued to snore. A faint breeze blew into the room causing Takumi’s bangs to sway from side to side as he moved himself on top of her and studied her lips. His attention then shifted over to her neck, defenseless and completely at his mercy. He maintained his sleepy, emotionless gaze on what he could have. A midnight snack. Nothing holding him back.

Her heartbeats resonated in his head like a lovely lullaby that kept him seated on top of her. In his trance, he brought his ear down to her chest and listened for what felt like hours, but was really a bit over thirty seconds. It wasn’t until she tried reaching out to pinch his cheek that he moved towards her face and pressed his nose up against her cheek. Her arm curled around his head as she huffed in her sleep, feeling the weight pressing down on her small frame.

His nose trailed along where her saliva was and rubbed against the drool that had been running down the side of her mouth. Still in his slumbering state, his Setsu side determined that the drool was the source of the attractive scent. The tap of his nose wasn’t enough to wake her just yet. It scoped her cheek, then pressed up against her nose before trailing back down. Though she wrapped her arms around the little bat. The restricting squeeze rendered him immobile. Each squeeze brought with it a squeak. She held him close, pressing his cheek up against her own.

His Setsu side shifted back to his regular form and he went on to nibble on the ridge of Hanami’s jawline. His soft lips grazed her sensitive neck. The light breaths that he took slowly awakened her. Her eyes opened at the sight of who she believed to be the infamous batboy, a character within a novel series she adored. The two awkwardly stared at each other. His hands gripped her thighs. Supple to the touch, his thumbs pressed down. She slowly closed her eyes for ten seconds believing it all to be a dream and made a kissing face, uttering “Batboy.”

Takumi instantly cringed and snapped out of the memories, punching the giant lab TV. “So, the cameras only caught me up until I entered her room? Good. Now, erase the footage or I’ll erase your life,” he warned Beniko.

With a sharp “YES, MASTER TAKUMI!”, Beniko slumped into her seat and dove onto the controls. Takumi escorted himself out, hearing fast typing coming from the control area. He shut the vault door behind himself as Beniko sighed in relief at the sound of the door slamming.

“Having her around is turning into a serious pain. How am I going to get rid of her? I don’t want to chain my door because of that damn girl.” He was flustered at the thought of him having been on Hanami’s bed, right beside her, but was relieved that she had slipped back to sleep and his slumbering self managed to exit her room. Shaking his head, Takumi went off to prepare.

It didn’t take him long and soon he found himself arriving at the long stairs that led to the lobby. Right as he was about to enter, he saw June coming his way from the other end of the hall. June didn’t notice him yet, as he seemed to be in thought. He zoned back in and frowned when he locked eyes with Takumi. “What’s he angry about? Wait…” Takumi grumbled.

June walked up to him and demanded, “What the hell were you doing in Hanami’s room last night!?”

Takumi sighed. “Shut up.” He looked around to make sure no maids were present as they’d be able to report to Miranda.

“Tell me!”

“What any couple does.”

“You don’t mean?!”

“It’s none of your business.”

“It is my business!”

“Remember, she’s my property,” Takumi told him, smirking as he made his way to the stairs.

“We went over this, don’t go saying that…”

“What? Because you love her? You can’t handle the fact that she’s to be married to me? Hmph.”

“That’s not it, you just watch yourself. If you make her cry, I’ll hang you myself.” June reached for Takumi’s shoulder and lightly pushed him back towards the railing. Takumi simply slid back, resting his elbows on the railing and said, “Hang? Like that mother of yours?”

June’s eyes widened, as he thought to himself, “How does he know?” He whipped around, grabbing Takumi by his collar as he grit his teeth. June clenched his hand into a fist and lifted it over himself.

Takumi turned his cheek, welcoming him to swing while studying June’s expression. “Go ahead, do it if you can.”

“Believe me, I would… but this isn’t the place.” June wanted to strike him, but reminded himself he’d be stepping out of line. Instead of getting into an altercation, he let go of Takumi and hurried down the stairs, only to stop half way for a moment. His voice travelled to the top step. “My duty is to take care of your sister, but you’re different. I’m going to make you regret being such an asshole, when you least expect it. Just wait.”

“Right…” Takumi muttered as June continued down and out through the entrance door.

“How unlike him,” a passing maid that saw when June had gripped Takumi’s collar said.

Outside of the mansion’s front, June passed by Yoshigawa, who was headed inside, as the latter bumped into Chinatsu by accident. As he arrived at the bottom, Takumi watched Chinatsu try to walk by Yoshigawa without saying anything at all.

“Chichi, morning! You know where I can find Naomi? She never called last night, so I came over to find out from Tak.” Chinatsu saw Yoshigawa’s worried expression, as he tilted his head away from her, searching around the room for nothing in particular. She opened her mouth, but it was dry. Try as she may, words weren’t coming out. “Chichi?” Yoshigawa brought his sights back to Chinatsu, as Takumi walked up to him.

“Yo Tai,” Yoshigawa gave him a faint heads up, without his usual smile. “Naomi didn’t make it back?” he asked Takumi, who stared at him, concerned. Takumi wasn’t sure how he should put it. All the while, Chinatsu spaced out, unable to get the image of her sister’s half-eaten head out of her mind.

“Both of you guys are acting awfully weird today…” Yoshigawa awkwardly laughed, reaching out to Chinatsu’s shoulder. His hand trembled, before he gripped her shoulder, applying force that made Chinatsu flinch. “TALK TO ME! WHERE’S NAOMI?!” he shouted, snapping Chinatsu back into place. His voice shook her, as it echoed through the silent lobby.

“NAOMI’S DYING!!!!!” she finally cried out, slapping his arm off of her shoulder. Chinatsu shoved him aside and ran out without looking back. Yoshigawa immediately staggered back, his shocked expression going to Takumi, who turned away, unable to look his friend in the eyes.

His hands reached for his hair, grasping it to assure he wasn’t dreaming. “Huh…?” An array of emotions hit him all at once as flashes of memories flooded his brain.

“Shima, uh… we have school,” Takumi blurted out. Yoshigawa heard Takumi’s voice ringing in the background, but spaced out.

“Shima,” Takumi repeated, going over to Yoshigawa. He shook his shoulder.

“There’s no way…”

“Dude, we have school…”

Yoshigawa only gave Takumi a smile, shaking his head. “You’ve never given a crap about school, now you do?”

“I’m only going to find the captain, but…”

“You have school, I don’t…” Yoshigawa told Takumi, taking slow steps back as Takumi dropped his hand to his side. Yoshigawa continued shaking his head and then turned away, running out as fast as he could.

Letting out a low sigh, Takumi checked his watch. “I can’t be late, I’ll talk to him later.”

Over in Hanami’s room, the girl wiggled around in her comfy sweatpants, finally waking up. She clenched her eyes shut again, thinking of the odd dream she had. The only thing of that dream that came to her right away being when she puckered her lips lightly expecting to be kissed. Five seconds went by, then ten, fifteen, and after a whole thirty seconds, she peeked. There was no one there, completely leaving her confused. Soon enough, her eyelids became heavy enough that she drifted to sleep again, as her mind subconsciously added unrealistic parts to the experience.

“THAT’S ALL A DREAM!!! WHY AM I THINKING OF THAT?!?! GET IT OUT OF YOUR MIND!” Her inner voice spoke as she shook her head violently, kicking her feet around, before leaning back up.

Down below in the lobby, “Alto is outside feeding the stallions. He finished gathering reports and will be heading to the Ikigai meeting soon after,” Miranda informed Sayuri.

“Okay, I’ll head over to the meeting then, thanks,” Sayuri responded, and turned around to grab the little one’s hand, only to realize he was nowhere to be seen.

“Kotaro, where are you?!” Sayuri paced back and forth in search of one of the younglings that had wandered off within the mansion while she had been busy speaking to Miranda. Her violet eyes brightened, as she focused on her Setsu side, allowing her to pick up on the trail of Retsu that the infant left behind.

Falling forward, the little one crawled across the carpet and lifted himself up when he reached the side of Hanami’s bed. His shoes slipped off and his small fangs elongated with a devious little grin. His lime-blue eyes focused on what was behind the pink sheets. Whatever it was, smelled yummy.

“Nummy!” The small one giggled, furrowing himself into the sheets. He tried to get through, but the sheets were pressed tightly underneath the girl, keeping him from getting inside the warm space she found herself in. This prompted the child to seek another entry. Climbing up onto her, Kotaro made his way over to Hanami’s pillow, kneeing her on the cheek along the way.

He patted her head, moving the girls messy hair around and laid over her. He opened his mouth, flipping his body over. On her, he gawked at her cheek, before setting his mouth on it and swirling his small tongue along her cheek, draining her Retsu. His tush wiggled in pleasure, elevating up due to his little control over his Setsu abilities.

The warm sensation of something moist swirling along her skin gradually woke Hanami back up. She moved over in her sleep, causing the child to lose his position. He nearly rolled off of the bed, but she had caught him in her sleep and pulled him over the covers, where she pressed his chubby cheek against her cheek as the infant tried reaching for her nose. She shook her head around, preventing him from latching on and grumbled. “Mmmmnnnghh, nooo… I like my nose, staaaphh.” She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She felt slobber roll down her cheek, to the side of her neck, spreading over towards her ear. Right after, she felt a patch of soft hair nuzzle below her chin.

“What the…” She slouched forward on the bed and composed herself. When she glanced down to her lap, she found that a small child was staring up at her with a smile and one small fang spread past his lips, curving outward. She blinked twice trying to wrap her head around who the little one was. “How’d you get in here?” She lifted the baby and then set him on her lap. His large emerald eyes shined when the sunlight spread out further onto the bed.

“Better yet- wait, you can’t talk, can you?” Hanami lifted the small one up over her head, then set him on her lap again. The child stared into her pink eyes. Seeing his reflection in them, he looked astonished. Kotaro tilted his head aside in response to her question. A giggle followed right after and he moved his hands up to try and touch her face, but his small arms couldn’t reach.

“Awww, does the cutie have a name?” she asked, not really expecting an answer. To her surprise she heard an elderly man’s voice yell, “YOUUURRRR DADDDDYYYYYY HOBBBAHOBBBB, GIVE IT TO MEEE!!!”, causing her to stand up and coddle Kotaro.

“The heck was that?!” Hanami slid the sheets aside. Kotaro kicked around and she adjusted him to the hip, carrying him off of the bed and walked over to the dresser. When she did, she noticed that the child was invisible in the mirror. Upon further inspection, she stared at her own reflection and realized… “EHHHHHHKKKK!!!”

Sayuri continued to look around for Kotaro when she heard the loud shriek, triggering her to run over to the room. When she stepped in, she saw Kotaro on top of Hanami’s shoulder, sucking on her cheek delightfully while Haruna was on her knees clenching her eyes.

“KOTARO!!!” Sayuri yelled, startling the little one as he tumbled off of Hanami. She walked straight to him and yanked him up as Hanami stood back up and ran towards the mirror.

“M-MY EYES!!!” She blinked and couldn’t believe they were pink. “WHY NOW OUT OF ALL TIMES!?” she thought, remembering a distinct morning months prior, when she woke up with the crimson hair and oak eyes. Moments later, her eyes were back to oak and her once crimson hair was now brown.

“As you mature, you’ll be going through phases. You’re not fully Setsu, so you’re going to have ‘swings’ throughout the next four years,” she recalled her grandmother informing her months ago.

Hanami spun over, ruffling her hair and pressing it to her cheeks. Sayuri and Kotaro awkwardly looked on as she dove into her closet to get her uniform ready. “What would my classmates say if I go to school with my brown hair and then later it turns back?! If they’re as rude as Takumi, my highschool life is over! I can’t let anyone find out… no calm down, no one’s going to find out! Wait… since when do I care about negative opinions? If anyone wants problems, they can bring it on! Plus, they’re the Setsus…” she encouraged herself, only to remember that she had to control her temper.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“Eh, you must be Master Takumi’s fiancee? I apologize for the intrusion,” Sayuri’s voice got Hanami’s attention, as she bowed with an uneasy smile and leaned back up, recalling the news that circulated the estate.

“Oh, hey! Sadly, teheh… I’m Hanami.” Sayuri walked over and took in her features.

“Soft, beautiful skin…” Sayuri reached down and pinched Hanami’s cheek. “Alluring, sweet smell… I know that scent from somewhere,” Sayuri mouthed with Hanami wincing at the pinch. Sayuri quickly let go. “Ah, sorry again! I’m Sayuri, a Setsu from the Kino clan that serves the Hachi as a member of the Karoshi Pack. I’ve heard so much about you, the Hasegawa’s beautiful Gem.” Sayuri gently tugged Kotaro’s hand from her hair.

“Aw, thank you, teheh. What have you heard about me specifically?” Hanami asked out of curiosity. Sayuri recalled what the maids bickered about earlier in the morning… about hearing a roar coming from the second floor.

“Complete honesty?” A sweat drop rolled down the back of Sayuri’s head.

“Yeah, totally!” Hanami blinked, waiting.

“Some of the maids have told me that you’re loud and obnoxious,” Sayuri responded, laughing uneasily. “Above all else, you trigger their master.”

“HUH?! WHO SAID THAT?!” She raised her fist up, with an angry face.

“Umm, some maids that I probably shouldn’t name.”

“THE MAIDS?!” The first ones Hanami thought of were the ninja maids. “I thought we were friends!” Completely crushed, she dropped her head in disappointment.

“Anyway, you resemble someone I know from the Hasegawa.”

Hearing that, Hanami quickly jumped in front of Sayuri and asked, “Really?! Who?”

“Angie Hasegawa.”

“ANGIE?! You know my sister?!” Her jaw dropped. “What resemblance could that be?!” Hanami cried.

Thinking back to years ago, Sayuri recollected having faced Hanami’s sister in high school. The two were in separate Setsu schools, battling to prove which was worthy of the graduating promotion in a kendo bout to determine the top prestige. “Sorta. I had the pleasure of combating with her one time,” Sayuri laughed, blocking out the rest of the memory of that single occasion.

“She trash talked you, right?” Hanami guessed.

“Haha, yup.”

“Figured. She’s the worst,” Hanami giggled uneasily.

“You’ll never amount to anything, don’t ever talk that way around me you lowbirthed disgrace!” “It’s your fault! ALL YOUR FAULT!” Hanami recalled her sister’s stinging words and resentful glare, before pushing it to the back of her mind and smiling as she folded her hands.

“Bad! You’re so grabby!” Sayuri pouted, evading Kotaro’s attempts at scratching her. Kotaro got a hold of Sayuri’s ear, forcing her to pry him off, as Hanami brought her finger up and pushed it against Kotaro’s mushy cheek.

“And who’s this cutie?!”

“He’s one of the younglings, like four years old. Kotaro, the youngest member of the Karoshi Pack. He slipped away from me earlier while I searched for Sir Alto. Again, sorry if he disturbed your sleep.”

“Oh no, it’s no big deal at all!” Hanami responded earnestly. “If it weren’t for him I would have slept in, so thank you!” She rubbed Kotaro’s cheeks playfully as he attempted to bite her fingers every time she brought them close to his face. The two giggled as they both heard a vacuum approaching the door, being used by a green-haired maid. She stood at the door with her typical blank expression.

“Morning,” she said softly and went on to politely ask. “May I enter?”

“Morning.” Hanami nodded with a squint, knowing her reputation with the maids wasn’t too good. The maid placed down a suction tube she had in hand. From it, a pink sponge that resembled a tongue came out and flicked side to side, scooping in the particles of dust. The maid passed by them as Kotaro started to uncomfortably wiggle around in Sayuri’s arms. He tried making grabby hands at Hanami, only for Sayuri to move him over, gently swatting his hand aside.

“Well, it was a pleasure briefly speaking to you, but I must find Sir Alto, as we have a meeting today.” Sayuri bowed and stepped away.

“Yeah, see ya around, Ms. Sayuri.” Hanami waved to her.

“Pink eyes… a Hasegawa, huh?” Sayuri scoffed and flinched when Kotaro sunk his fangs into her shoulder. “Ow! Kotaro!”

Inside the room, Hanami finished picking out her clothes. The maid fixed her bed, when she recalled a message Miranda had told her to pass on. “Oh yes, Miranda is waiting downstairs with your breakfast. She told me to tell you that she’ll be driving you to school today.”

“Really? Great, I won’t have to be with that guy! I’ll be right over!” Hanami stepped into her bathroom quickly. Her class began at 8:30 a.m. and it was about to be 7:00. It took her twenty minutes to shower, three minutes to brush her teeth, and five minutes to fix her hair. She didn’t have time for her early morning kendo practice since it was so late already. “I have to adjust to this new schedule,” she made a mental note.

Down in the kitchen, Miranda placed Hanami’s breakfast down, arranging them with the other maids. Sliding into her seat, she dove right in and scarfed the delicious delicacies that the maids had prepared for her. In delight, she made audible sounds of enjoyment, giggling here and there. She finished with British tea Yoshigawa had sent over the previous day and thanked the maids, who stood around and waited for her to give them a rating. She was in a rush, but couldn’t contain how giddy she felt and wiggled in place for a moment until she flung her arms up. “Thank you so much!”

“You have to give them a rating.” Chef Gustov opened a cabinet and rolled out onto the floor. He stood up and pat himself down, completely startling Hanami, who was surprised someone could fit in such a tiny cabinet. “Ah sorry, I was retrieving some spices in the cellar,” the chef explained, hopping onto a stool. He dipped his finger into a pot and tasted the sauce. “Give them a rating.”

“Rating? Oh! Um, ten out of ten! The shokupan especially!” At her words, the maids that silently stood around bowed and Hanami excused herself when the hovering clock came into view. She ran back upstairs to brush her teeth again. Miranda watched as Minaka silently finished washing the car herself, while Miranda dried the hover-car and slid in to start it up.

Another ten minutes passed. Miranda had the car ready, inputting the route they’d take with the reminder Alto had given her before she had gotten into the car. Looking at the rear-view mirror, Miranda carefully backed up and then drove onto the driveway. She glanced at the center mirror where she saw that Hanami finally stepped out onto the mansion’s porch in her daytime school uniform, all ready to go.

“Ahhhhhh,” Hanami sighed in relief, enjoying the warmth that the morning sun provided. All other thoughts that seemed grim in the morning were no longer present, and she looked forward to seeing Minami at school again and figuring out how to make her kendo club. Above all else, she’d now be in a fresh new environment. She didn’t know what to really expect, but knew that she had to do her best to uphold the Hasegawa’s reputation and enjoy the new experiences she’d soon make.

“I forgot to call nana, but I’ll do it later. I can’t wait to tell her about my day!” With that motivation, Hanami swooped down the steps, scaring off some purple white-bellied birds that had been chirping. The sound of two honks directed her sights to Miranda’s hover-car.

“I’m coming!” Hanami snatched her school bag and ran over to the passenger seat at the front.

“Ready?” Miranda asked softly.

“Yeah! I have everything I need, I don’t think I’m forgetting anything.”

“Umm, your kend-”

“Oh no! I won’t need it today. I’m leaving my kendo bag behind. I’ll do my Kendo practice later when I get back, teheh.”

Miranda silently nodded and started driving down the road, giving Hanami barely any time to clip on her seatbelt. The girl caught herself, pressing her elbow against the window beside her and then plugged her phone into the stereo of the car and set a song to listen to on the road.

“K-Pop?”

“It’s really good, do you like it? Salu is so talented and handsome too!”

“I only listen to rock and metal,” Miranda replied.

“Wow… I wouldn’t have ever guessed.” Hanami blinked in surprise. “She doesn’t seem like the type to enjoy any music, but I guess everyone has their own preferences,” she thought to herself.

“That’s really cool though! Show me one of those songs, I’ve never listened to any of that before.” Hanami paused her song, handing Miranda her phone. The maid typed in a song without averting her eyes from the road. The exhilarating metal song blasted, nearly blowing Hanami over as it filled the entire car.

Miranda blankly nodded her head to the song and Hanami soon joined in, finding that the song pumped her up. Unlike Miranda who only bopped her head slightly, Hanami let loose. Miranda smiled faintly, seeing the girl enjoy it. The song played for five minutes until it ended and Hanami found herself spaced out. “That thing got me thinking of writing a manga… but I forgot some of my ideas,” Hanami muttered. Miranda didn’t want to break the girl from her thoughtful state, so she didn’t play another one. The girl watched the many fields they passed. Tilting her gaze to the blue sky, she closed her eyes. “Though this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind and it’s slightly different than competing back at home, I’m going to make it work!”

“Satomi, Erika… I wish I could have competed with you. They weren’t even told when I got locked up… I wonder if they even know where I am or if they’ll be shocked if we run into each other? Since I won’t be with them, that means I’ll have to face them eventually!” Hanami folded her arms, a smirk spreading across her face at the thought. “I have to make the best of my time here if I’m going to take those two down! First things first, talk to Miyumi to get those club papers. After that, I’ll recruit. Even if they’re total newbies, at least one of them has to be a decent kendoka.”

“YEAHHHH!!!” She got completely psyched, raising her fist up in the car, hitting the roof and quickly apologized as Miranda smiled.

“We have to be careful around that new girl, she’s as dangerous as the master,” Miranda recollected maids whispering about Hanami.

“Excited about school?”

“You bet I am!” Hanami looked at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. “Even if the members suck, I’ll get us all the way to nationals by myself if I have to and take the front stage! That’ll prove to Angie and Nami that I can be an even greater kendoka than mother!” She giggled mischievously and then turned to Miranda, having thought about something else entirely.

“Wait, Mira… how old are you again?”

“Eighteen,” Miranda said softly.

“Eighteen?! Wow! What’s your sign? I’m an Aries.”

“I don’t know. My birthday month… I don’t know my exact one, but Master Takumi gave me a birthday on his birthday. It’s in May…”

Hanami blinked, registering what Miranda said. “He gave you a birthday… on his birthday? That can’t be right at all, that conceited egomaniac!”

“Mhm, long ago. The master was often alone. On his birthdays, he spent them locked away in his room. I was told to take his cake to him by his mother… after I was told that those who approached him on his birthday were always fired. It didn’t faze me though. When I went in, he was staring out at the moon. I went to him and set my hand on his shoulder, he was really cold. Partly due to leaving the window open and sitting on the cold floor with nothing more than a tank top. Of course, I closed it. It didn’t seem like he acknowledged my presence until I placed the cake on his lap. He was crying… it was strange to see tears in his eyes. It wasn’t my place to ask why, but I took a seat beside him. We sat there for sometime in silence until I told him to try the cake, since I did put a lot into making it. The master did so… only after I tried some first.” Hanami saw a smile form on Miranda’s face. “He wanted to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.”

“He didn’t trust you?! What a-”

“During those times, there were many assassination attempts on Lord Takumi.”

“Oh…”

“Nonetheless, I did as he wanted. After I had a taste, he took a bite, then finished the rest off. One thing led to another and he asked me about my birthday. Since I didn’t know mine, he assigned my birthday to be on his birthday. Ever since, we celebrate them together.”

“Do you visit your family often for birthdays?” Haruna shyly asked, tilting her head. “Silly me, you just said… your birthday is on his. So… that means you don’t have a family?”

“They’re all dead,” Miranda answered. She saw a herd of sheep blocking the road up ahead, prompting her to slow the car down cautiously.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Hanami felt bad about asking her such a question, rather the whole topic felt sour. “There’s a lot I don’t know about them yet…” she thought in her head.

“It’s fine.” Miranda pulled over to the side of the road, sliding out of her car seat after unclipping her seat belt.

Hanami soon joined Miranda outside and the two went over to the sheeps. She knelt down in front of one that felt her presence and looked up at her, with it’s big round eyes. “Baaaah!” It shook its head around for five seconds, then continued munching on the grass it yanked from the side of the road. Hanami raised her hands and said, “Boo!” in return, unsuccessful in her attempt to scare the sheep off of the road.

“You can’t follow the other sheeps, little one. Go down there!” Hanami resorted to leading the sheep down the hill, but when she lightly tapped it to urge it to go downhill, the sheep dramatically flopped over and tumbled several times down the grassy hilly right as she turned away, not noticing what happened. Moving to the next one, she rolled up her sleeve and proceeded to pick up the sheep and moved it over to the grassy hill. “Jeez! It’s heavy! All of that from just grass?! WOW!” Two other sheeps said “Baaaaah!” in an attempt to stop Hanami from touching them. The sudden sounds almost made her trip over, as she lost her grip on the sheep and it ended up rolling down the hill as she freaked out and thought it got hurt. “AHHH, I KILLED IT!!!” She slid half way down the hill and stopped when she saw the sheep roll back up onto it’s four fluffy legs. It continued munching on the grass, to her shock.

Up at the top, Miranda watched the whole thing and found herself laughing ever so slightly. She soon felt something wet rub along her calf. She glanced down to see that it was another sheep, rubbing its nose against her. It’s googly eyes returned to looking at the black pavement as the sheep pressed its nose against the ground and continued searching for grass. Before it passed her, Miranda lightly kicked the sheeps side, resulting in the sheep stumbling down the hill like a fluffy bowling ball that bumped into the other two dozen sheep that were already on the hill.

Feeling the vibrations in the ground, Hanami stopped tending to the sheep she had accidentally pushed down the hill and looked up to the two dozen white fluffy balls coming straight down for her. At the very top, Hanami saw Miranda chucking more sheeps down the hill. “GAHHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THAT’S ANIMAL CRUELTY!” She freaked out with little time to say much else. She dove side to side, dodging as she scrambled up the hill to stop Miranda from chucking anymore to their “deaths.”

She barely got to the top, collapsing at Miranda’s feet as she caught her breath. She grabbed onto Miranda’s sleeve and dramatically shouted, “You killed them!”

Miranda blinked, rather lost as to why the girl was so stressed. “Huh? Look down there, they’re fine.” Miranda pointed, kicking another sheep that passed in front of them. Hanami followed the direction Miranda’s finger pointed to. To her surprise, the fluffy white balls poofed back into sheeps, while others that were on their backs simply rolled back onto their feet and continued munching on the grass as if nothing happened.

“Those sheep aren’t harmed easily. They’re pretty dense to their surroundings and their wool keeps them safe. It possesses Retsu.” Miranda gave Hanami a thumbs up as the girl found it completely weird, but went on to help the maid toss the three remaining sheeps downhill.

After they were done, the pair returned to the hover-car and continued en route, passing the outer bridge that led into the ground level of Osaka’s first city. Hanami stared into the rear-view mirror and noticed her wavy hair needed to be fixed up; she reached into her bag, in search of her hairbrush. Miranda kept her eyes on the empty road briefly as they approached a Taco Shell restaurant.

“I’ll take you there for taco next time,” Miranda said a tad higher so Hanami could hear her.

She looked up and turned her head, seeing a giant dancing hologram of a taco with a mustache. “Taco? What’s that?”

“It’s rough on the outside and spicy on the inside, depending what you put in.”

“Oh, so an edible Takumi? Gross.” Hanami puffed up her cheek.

Miranda really thought about that. Both of them did. Takumi in a taco suit, frowning at them. Miranda smiled while Hanami burst out in laughter at the thought of how hilarious that’d be. Miranda rubbed her eyes, focusing back on the road again when something crossed Hanami’s mind.

“So, you’ve worked for the Hachis for a long time?”

“Long time?” Miranda spun the wheel over and maintained it as they drifted down the spiraling road, to the bottom. “Many years,” she replied, entering a mountain tunnel.

“How many years?” Hanami pressed on.

A sweat drop rolled down Miranda’s forehead. “Let’s see… I’m eighteen right now, so nine years.”

“Nine years?!” Hanami shifted over on the leather seat. “That’s a lot of time, so you go way back with them all. I can’t begin to imagine what that was like.”

“They’re my family.” Miranda faintly smiled, making Hanami smile again. “All of them. A lot of them are away right now, but they pop in from time to time.”

“Even Takumi, huh? I guess there really is a lot I don’t know.”

“Mhm. I especially owe him my life. He’s my only master.” Hearing those words from Miranda made Hanami feel slightly awkward, as she turned away and remained quiet.

“We’re here,” Miranda spoke softly, driving through the golden gates of the private high school. She parked beside the sidewalk so Hanami could step out and walk the rest of the way there, while other students shot glances over to the car because of the golden Hachi emblem on its hood. A few stopped to whisper and then quickly turned away when Hanami slid out of her side and looked over in their direction.

“It’s officially the first day of school… my first taste of freedom. I’ll do my best!” Hanami encouraged herself, watching the passing clouds with a wide smile. She took out a pamphlet and zipped her bag shut, swinging it comfortably over her shoulder. Miranda waved her goodbye and backed up briefly, then set the car on park again so she could call Alto and let him know Hanami arrived safely.

The girl disappeared into the distance from Miranda’s view, running past a guy that was chaining his bike. As she looked up to the number of the building and back down to her pamphlet, she confirmed it was the right building, so she stepped into building 20. The 9th graders’ building. She passed people with her bag slugging around just as a few exited. When she turned the corner she was met with a mob. Robots with weird smiles stormed through all around, making hordes that created total chaos in the halls. Hanami tippy toed, seeking a way through.

“T-There’s no way! Hmmghh, I’ll have to get through by force!” She just decided to charge right into the mob of robots that were exiting and entering to get to their designated departments in preparation for their many tasks. “How are there even this many?! WHERE ARE THE STUDENTS?!” she questioned, but shook it out of her head a second later. “Focus Hana, focus!” She rolled the sleeve of her school uniform and slid her right foot over, preparing to run in.

“One… one,” she repeated nervously, sizing them up, only to feel like a complete shrimp compared to the hovering robots bumping into each other. “Two… NOW!” Hanami took quick steps and then tried to jump over the crowd, but ended up getting caught as she moved her right hand in the air frantically seeking to grab onto something for dear life. “I’M SINKING! I’M SINKING!!!” she cried out, but her voice was drowned out by the loud chatter of all the robotic smiling cats buzzing around.

After struggling for a moment, she wound up allowing the crowd of robots to carry her around like a wave until she reached the stairwell, where she gripped the pole and yanked herself out of the crowd, gasping for air. She took a second to catch her breath and then walked up the steps to the third floor, exhausted. “Ahhh… finally, I can breathe.”

Behind her, she heard rumbling; this time, it sounded like other students. She wasn’t going to wait around to find out what was coming. She leapt up the steps, quickly diving into the hallway face-first and shut the door behind her. “Are the first days this crazy?!” She internally screamed as she patted her skirt down, then walked through the hallway quickly in search of her classroom.

She checked all of the doors and their tags until she found her room. “D-4… D-3… D-2… here it is!” She stopped in front of a door with the correct hovering label beside the sliding door. This label had a holographic “D-2” that briefly shifted into a dancing worm. It greeted her, flinging itself side to side and recited. “IT’S CLASS TIME! IT’S CLASS TIME!!! CLASS TIME!”

Hanami found it weird and didn’t respond to the worm. Instead, she stepped into the room and the door slid by itself and closed behind her smoothly. A few students were in their seats already and just behind Hanami, the door opened once more as someone jumped onto her. To her surprise, when she turned around, it was none other than Minami. She patted Hanami’s shoulders, after surprising her with the sudden pounce and said, “You beat me here! Morning!”

Hanami set her hand on her chest in relief that it wasn’t the worm. She felt her heart pounding. “And you scared me! Gosh Minami, don’t sneak up on me!”

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to!” Minami slapped her palms together and the two giggled, turning over. Minami picked two seats out for them at the middle of the center row. Hanami slid her bag on the table and sat down after a quick stretch.

“I don’t know how I got here before you though, I almost overslept…”

“Oh really? I woke up pretty early, but had to get orders ready for when I get back this evening,” Minami responded as she brought out a cookbook. “I had to make some early deliveries, too. You won’t believe what happened.” Minami stuck her tongue out, thinking back to earlier in the morning when she had to go out on her bike around the neighborhood near her family’s restaurant.

“When I went to make my last delivery, I took this back alley and ran into a mob of cats just grouped together in the middle for no reason! There were so many, that I had to take a detour a different way. Alleys are always a problem,” Minami sighed as Hanami excitedly jumped from her seat.

“That made me remember when I found a ‘Daisuki’ manga! Boy was I lucky, teheh. That one was volume 5.” Hanami envisioned where she could have left it in her room back at the Hasegawa Estate.

“A manga?” Minami asked. “They still make those? I thought webtoons and light novels took over.”

“It’s a classic. And it wasn’t just any manga! It’s one of the last seven volumes still in existence… I think I left it at home.”

“Really? Well, if you find it, show me!” Minami responded excitedly.

Hanami’s eyes flew open, as she slapped her hands against her cheeks in a panic. “ OH NO, SHE’LL TAKE IT!” A slew of worrying thoughts crossed her mind, regarding a particular female. “She has a habit of taking other people’s things and selling them online without them knowing. Ahhh, if she did that to me…” Hanami dropped onto her seat, tightening her fists.

Minami giggled, patting her back. “Who is she? She sounds like a character straight out of Starlings Meow Meow,” Minami said, remembering an anime about a cat girl who’d sneak into houses to steal rare manga from people so she could resell them at her shop.

“What’s funny is that you got it exactly right! She has a habit of taking stuff that’s not hers,” Hanami groaned. “If you accuse her of taking something, she’ll deny it and claim that she ‘relocated it’ onto a website and will guilt trip you into letting it slide.”

“Oh… that’s sneaky alright.”

“I wish she were a character in one of my fictional worlds, I’d get her back sooo bad,” Hanami puffed up one of her cheeks.

“You write? Oh my! Same here, but I don’t all the time, only when I have something in mind.”

“Speaking of Starlings, the latest episode is streaming this Sunday, we should watch it together!” Minami got the idea, nearly jumping out of her seat.

“Mmmmm, and hopefully our teacher isn’t as crazy as the one in that anime.” Hanami twisted her head over, looking around for any signs of the teacher and sighed in relief; it didn’t seem like they’d arrived yet.

“Hi there!” Four other girls arrived, introducing themselves. “I’m Hatsue Goto, from Ketsua middle school. These are Toshi, Esi and Kimie. I just met them too, and it looks like we’re the only girls in this class to get here so far.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sounds cooliostic and slightly terrifying,” Toshi tweaked, twitching her left eye. “H-Hey I smell coco from you, can you spare some?” Toshi asked Minami as she rubbed the side of her neck nervously.

Minami raised a brow and said, “No, I don’t have anymore.” Toshi sighed in disappointment that there wasn’t any left as Minami reached out for her hand.

“But I can bring you some tomorrow!” Minami told Toshi and watched Toshi’s expression light up, albeit the twitching of her left eye continued, as her right shoulder twitched next. She took Minami’s hand in her own and pressed her cheek to the back of Minami’s hand, thanking her repeatedly.

“Wow! Is that a Gummy bracelet? You’ve gotta trade with me! That has to be one of the limited collectables!” Kimie pressed her cheek against Hanami’s desk and gawked at her red bracelet.

Hanami was taken aback by all the sudden girls who showed up to their desks, but politely introduced herself. “Hi! I’m Haruna Hasegawa here- ah, this bracelet isn’t something I can part with.” Kimie pouted, but soon stood back up and held her hand out to shake Hanami’s. The two did so, leading to interactions between the six.

Everything seemed lively within the classroom, until Hanami got a vibe behind her. A sensation along her neck led her to turn her seat around and spot someone she hadn’t expected. She saw the same girl that had treated her hunger the previous day at the entrance ceremony.

“Veil! It’s you!” Hanami couldn’t forget the girl’s name nor her cute face. Veil had been reading a cookbook quietly and when she heard her name, she averted her eyes off of the page.

“You remember my name,” Veil said softly, surprised.

“Of course I would! I owe you big for yesterday! Let me treat you to something for lunch!” Hanami stood up, glancing to the empty seat beside Veil, who silently sat at the table behind Hanami.

It didn’t seem like many people noticed her. Though it was understandable, due to Veil’s small size and her long white hair that practically blended in; it meshed perfectly with her seemingly gentle nature and ghost-like appearance. Hanami passed by the girls who were crowding her and Minami, politely excusing herself.

“Oh, um… you don’t have to.” Veil set her book down, giving Hanami her attention. “Nah! I totally have to! I can’t believe we’re in the same class! This is great, tehehe. I’m surprised though because I thought you were in an upper class. You were helping recruit people into the cooking club yesterday, right?” Hanami raised a brow.

“No. I was passing by and an upperclassman asked for my help, so…” Veil thought back to when she had approached the cooking stand out of curiosity. The three sophomores that looked after the table took advantage of the small girl. The one in the center set the chef’s hat on her, while the other two handed her the spatula and the apron. The guy in the center walked around the table and pushed her along to the middle, then thanked her and stormed off. “I helped. I really love cooking,” Veil responded with a single nod.

“Help? Sounds like they forced their duties onto you. Despicable…” Hanami frowned. “You said they’re upperclassmen?” She raised her fist.

“Yeah…” Veil responded awkwardly, watching Hanami’s hair rise up in anger.

“Great. Show me who they are sometime, they’ll regret taking advantage of freshmen! It’s only proper that we enforce the right etiquettes if they won’t or else we’ll be taken advantage of.” Her eyebrow fidgeted, with fumes blowing out of her nose. Veil felt a scary vibe wash over her, as Hanami quickly waved it off.

“Anyway, your cooking is top notch! I still remember the yummy taste! You must come from a family of cooks to have that sort of skill.”

“No, I do it as a hobby. I help my grandmother out at the family shrine…” Veil responded.

“You’re really nice! I help my nana, too. Though she’s all the way in Hokkaido now.”

“Oh, it’s nothing really. I cook for the visitors and travellers who stop by.” Veil eyed the book she had been reading again, indicating to Hanami that she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

“I just remembered!” Hanami moved her hand from behind her back and patted Minami’s shoulder. Minami had been listening to the conversation between the other girls before turning around. “I think I found someone who can help you until you find more workers for your restaurant.”

“Really? Who?” Minami curiously asked.

“Meet Veil!” Hanami slid over and wrapped her arm around Veil, pressing Veil’s cheek up against hers.

“Um… hi.” Veil placed her book down, as she noticed Minami picked it up right away.

“I met her yesterday and she’s in our class, how crazy is that?! She’s the best at making dumplings, she can totally help out at your restaurant and show me how to make some! You have to make those again!” She scooped Veil’s hands into her own. A faint blush spread across Veil’s cheeks as she watched Minami skim through the book she had been reading.

“She has good taste, reading work from Tanikawa Hanzo. He’s in charge of the top cooking industry currently, a really tough culinary entrepreneur. Someone I want to beat one day.” Minami placed Veil’s book back on the desk. “So, Haru here is really praising your cooking. Wanna let us know what got you into it?”

“When I was a small girl, I made a promise to a kind sir… that’s all.” Veil looked down to her lap.

Minami noticed that Veil seemed visibly uncomfortable, so she didn’t dig any further. “Well… okay then. How about you hang out with me and Haruna this Sunday if nothing else comes up? I won’t have too many clients since we’ve just opened the place and it being the weekend… maybe we can even arrange for you to work at my restaurant if you want, since you’re so good!” Minami enthusiastically proclaimed.

“Umm, maybe… I’ve never really done that before.” Just as she said that, a beeping sound rang out through the classroom, followed by a robotic voice stating that class would be starting soon and for all students to take their seats. All of the students ran around, practically diving into their seats.

Outside of class D-2, freshman girls of D-3 squealed at the sight of Takumi passing through, accompanied by the other students of D-1. All of the students of D-1 gathered in the lobby earlier, where their teacher had notified them to meet and then head upstairs to their designated classroom. Their squeals echoed into the room in a high pitch that annoyed some of the guys in Hanami’s class.

“Barely been a day and those other guys are already drowning in p*ssy? What makes those Setsus better?” One questioned, leaning back, making the chair stand on its back legs. The others looked over to the door and saw the guys passing. “They didn’t make a big deal over us. Are those the guys from D-1!?” Another slammed his palms against his desk, rising from his seat with a progressively louder voice to match.

Takumi, nor the others paid mind to the females. They were focused solely on getting to class. “It’s the heir of the Hachi!!!”

“YOOOHOO, over here!!!” The girls chittered amongst themselves while inside, as the two jealous boys from Hanami’s class continued to look on.

One of the guys who stood at the door looked over to Hanami and nudged another guy to check her out. She instantly sensed their gaze and was almost ready to teach them a lesson, as the pair started drooling. The two started from her ankles, which were visible beneath the desk. She pressed her knees together, prompting the guy to look over to the other girls. Their chins became slippery, but they quickly wiped their sleeves across their mouths and looked away when they caught sight of a very tall woman staring down at them with a curved smile. Her bright lipstick shined thanks to the lighting that came from above.

She knelt down next to the boys, giving them a nasty glare. The boys felt uncomfortable and she asked them, “Tell me boys, do you like being stared at this way?” The two boys’ eyes naturally gravitated to her cleavage and then her lips.

“Yhhabazhha-” Both could only mutter gibberish.

“If you feel uneasy, imagine how your classmates feel when you do that. I don’t want any of that in my class. The next time I see you two gawking, you’re leaving my class blind.” She stood up, revealing she was about a foot taller than them.

This female was the teacher of class D-2. Her lengthy arms swatted playfully at the two boys to get into the class. “Don’t just stand there, you maggots; get to your seats!” The two hurried off to two empty seats and remained standing as the other kids rose and set their right hands to their hearts. Minami stood up setting her hand where a human heart would be and set her hand behind her back, too.

Confused, Hanami quickly rose up from her seat and did the same, looking over to the entrance where the teacher checked the class out. The teacher’s actual height set in, terrifying all of them. “Easily 7 feet! She’s an albino giraffe!!!” one of the kids thought aloud.

“A GIRAFFE?!?” several students exclaimed. The teacher ignored the comment along with the chattering. She walked straight over to her desk. Meaning straight business, she slammed her fists down, causing her table to wobble along as an aftershock of wind spread all throughout the room. The kids all quickly shut up, stiffening with fear seeing who they’d have as a teacher.

The woman flicked her orange hair behind her shoulder, causing it to shift to purple and set her bag down. The bag was shaped in the form of a robin, much like the hat the woman had on. She turned over to the holo-board and tapped it with her dainty index finger.

“Her hair changed color?” Hanami muttered, even more confused than before.

“That’s because all staff are required to have purple hair when they work here in Osaka. It’s a wig,” Veil replied to Hanami’s question and kept her book in front of her face so the girl couldn’t see her.

“Oh wow… is it permanent?” She mumbled curiously and turned around to see that the board had flashed a blue light and activated. The teacher swiped her finger around, writing up her name for all to see.

“Ms. Tsuzuri Soh. I will be your homeroom teacher for approximately four months. Then, another teacher may take my place if I decide I don’t like you guys.”

A huge sigh of relief broke out around the room. “Great, but how will I survive four months with that giraffe. I’m as good as dead!” a student whispered, cowering under his desk. Ms. Tsuzuri tapped her lower lip, gazing at all of the students who averted her gaze. That was one trend she noticed each year. Every student she looked at looked away, except for one. A pair of pink eyes were locked on her.

“Hmm… this one’s different,” the teacher uttered, noticing that beside this girl, a second one was staring at her. “We have something-” the teacher laughed under her breath, before bringing her attention to the rest of the class again. “This is a bad start. Let’s see.” She pushed the negative vibe aside and lowered her finger down onto a paper.

“I come in peace.” She attempted to wave her hand, but her hand accidentally shifted into what seemed to be a purple spiked scythe, which made the class scream internally in pure terror. Turning away a second later, she shifted her hand back to normal and swiped her finger across the board awkwardly. “Okay, that didn’t work…” Ms. Tsuzuri thought to herself.

See-through letters fluttered up into the air, coming from the board and broke apart, traveling over to each student. It beamed a blue light at each of the students holo-pads, syncing and inputting important information into their holo-pads. It cleared each row in a single flash. Hanami looked over and saw it was getting to her row fast, so she flipped her bag open and took out her red holo-pad and set it on the edge of her desk. It reached her section and the light swung through, inputting all of the information into the barcode at the upper right corner of the device.

After the lights passed through each line and all of the students had their holo-pads scanned, Ms. Tsuzuri continued. “I’ve inputted the important material of each subject, as well as important dates and trips we’ll have at different points during these four months. We’ll only cover the important information now, so the other information will have to be looked over when you arrive home, for those who don’t live on campus.”

“Trips?! Sweet! I want to go to the hot springs in Nara!” Minami nearly jumped out of her seat after hearing there would be trips. “Wouldn’t that be fun?!”

Hanami gave her a fond smile, agreeing. “There are some great stages there for kendo practice, too!”

“It’s always kendo with you!” Minami giggled, lightly pushing her friend’s shoulder.

“What can I say? I have that marked in my diary as a top place to visit.”

“Ahem…” The teacher sternly looked at the two, before continuing. “Turn on your holo-pads and insert your student code to log in.” The two girls, and the rest of the class, immediately tapped their index fingers against the hologram page to do so. “Head over to the lesson log. When your name is called, you’ll read a section.”

“I’ll be reading the first poem. This is related to the first historical lesson you’ll be receiving. Based on the battle of 1831 at the Yotomori bridge between Osaka and Nara. Many battles were waged to keep merchants of Nara from entering Osaka’s trading ports during the Seto periods.” Ms. Tsuzuri cleared her throat, after which she began.

“The sunset burned somber over the receding waterways,

Allocating uncertainty amongst brazen seekers of the grain,

A bountiful rues,

Estranged of immaculate deceit,

Red rum parliament,

Ichiraku Maki,

fickle.”

Elsewhere, back at the Hachi estate, the Ikigai’s Shosas were all on their way to the urgent gathering, as was Alto.